Vampire Madhouse:Child of Blood
by Saiyaness28
Summary: The final installment of the series. It's supposed to be impossible but it happened. Dawn is pregant. She is thrilled but Davion sees a much darker side to this miracle. What is the truth behind this mysterious birth? And what is Ian and Vincent up to? R/
1. Word from the AuthorDisregard

A Word from the Author

A Word from the Author

ATTENTION ALL READERS!! The time has come to begin the final installment of the Vampire Madhouse series. In "Vampire Madhouse: Child of Blood" all of your questions will finally be answered. But don't think I'm through with the twists and turns, there are plenty more. This will probably be the longest story of the series and I'll be introducing several new characters and bringing back some old ones. I'm really excited about this and hope you are too. Here's an in depth summary:

_They said it could never happen…but it did. No one knows how or why this miracle has occurred but Dawn couldn't be more thrilled. Eighteen years after she was turned into a vampire by her boyfriend, Dawn finds herself carrying his child. It's supposedly impossible for a female vampire to have children, yet here she is with a swollen belly and even more ferocious appetite for blood. Dawn is overjoyed when she finds out but Davion sees a much darker side to this gift. There is a legend told amongst vampire nobility of a child born of blood who will grow up to lead the vampires into the light of day to once again reign supreme. Davion believes that baby, his son, will one day become an even greater threat to humanity than Nos could ever have been. _

_Meanwhile, Ian Harker has also tried to move on with his life and is starting a family of his own with his new wife, Veronica. But an old obsession proves to be harder to let go of than he initially thought. What thresholds will he cross to obtain the power to irradiate the vampire race from the earth? And what does Lord Vincent have in store for Davion?_

You'll just have to wait and see. The werewolves will also be returning and Nicholas will be taking up the family business as the new head of the Helsing Organization. And of course Ian is as crazy as ever. Something awful is going to happen, let's hope Dawn's sanity survives the trauma.

LOOK FOR THE FIRST REAL CHAPTER TO "Vampire Madhouse: Child of Blood" IN EARLY SEPTEMBER. To insure that all of your questions are answered, please send me e-mails. You can find the address on my profile page. Your thoughts will really help me out and will hopefully make the series an even bigger success. As a thank you to all my loyal viewers here's a little snippet of what is to come:

_**I slumped down in the tub, the warm water licked at my chin. I rubbed my swollen belly affectionately as my unborn child moved within me. I closed my eyes and my thoughts ran away with me. **_

_**My thoughts entered a dreamlike state. I found myself standing in an alleyway, drenched in darkness. At the end I could see sunlight beaming down onto the street, Behind me was a dead end and the walls surrounding me were too tall to jump over. I was trapped. I knew that if I didn't get out of there soon, the sunlight would eventually find its way to me as the sun made its rounds across the earth. I went to clutch my stomach protectively but found no bump. "My baby's gone!" I screamed in horror. I dropped to my knees and buried my face in my arms as sobs ran through my lungs. "Are you alright?" asked a smooth male voice. I looked up into a pair of multicolored eyes, one blue, one green, both so brilliant they glowed with their own light. The man's face was familiar, he looked a lot like Davion, yet there were differences. His nose was shaped like mine and his cheekbones were not as pronounced. He had the pointed ears and fangs of a vampire but his skin wasn't nearly as pale, rather his skin was tanned, as if he'd spent hours on the beach every day. The color of his skin was a harsh contrast against his long snow-white hair and his outstanding eyes. Snow began to fall around us and collect on the ground on which I kneeled. "Who are you?" I breathed, not able to prevent my eyes from staring. The man smiled kindly, "It's Atreyu, Mother. Don't you recognize your own son?" He took my hand and led me into the street. I began to panic as we stepped into the blinding light, expecting to burst into flames the moment the light hit my skin, but Atreyu reassured me that everything was going to be okay. I came into the light and nothing happened. It didn't burn or hurt in any way, it felt just like it used to, warm and comforting. "How can this be?" I asked him, looking about in wonder. "Come along mother, everyone's waiting for you." We walked all the way to Main Street. It was crowded with vampires. Every last one of them watched us as we made our way to the front of the crowd. At the head, Atreyu turned around to face them. "For too long, the vampires have hidden in darkness, too long have you been bound to the night. Well not anymore, I have given you the gift of my blood in hopes that you may have what you have lost and have longed for. A chance, to feel human again." They all cheered his name. Smiling, he looked down at me. The sunlight made his hair glitter and his eyes sparkled with delight. "You're free mother. You're all free. The night can't hold you anymore."**_

That's it for now, tell me what you think. Until September…

-Saiyaness28


	2. Can't Quench the Thirst

Vampire Madhouse: Child of Blood

_I couldn't do it to you! I went ahead and started writing the first chapter yesterday and liked it so much I couldn't wait to get it out there for your reading pleasure. There was no way in heck I could wait till September. Plus, a lot of you were mad at me for even suggesting that. Hopefully, you'll be able to tear your peepers away from Breaking Dawn long enough to read it. Enjoy everyone!_

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Ch.1: Can't quench the Thirst

"What if I told you, that I know a way to make a vampire mortal again?" Said Vincent, crossing his arms over his chest and leaning against the wall. Ian raised his gun, aiming it at the vampire's chest, but the gun shook in his hands. It suddenly felt as heavy as led.

"I-I don't believe you." He faltered. A knowing smile crept across Vincent's face. "I see I've struck a nerve." He chuckled wickedly. "Shut up! Bloodsucker!" screamed Ian, firing a few rounds at him. Vincent's slender form blurred as he dodged Ian's silver bullets. In an instant he had the gun in his hand. He snapped the barrel off the gun with his bare hands and threw it to the floor. "Think about it Ian, you could have your precious Dawn back, isn't that worth it?"

Ian visibly gave in, his body relaxed and he leaned against a chair for support. "I'm listening." He mumbled, breathing hard. His bloodshot eyes fixated on Vincent. He watched as the vampire paced the room, a thoughtful expression on his face. "There is an old legend amongst the vampire nobles of a child that will be born to vampire parents, a child born of blood, if you will. It is said that this child's blood will hold the power to reverse the vampire's venom. Sunlight will have no affect on him, nor will he be a slave to his thirst like the rest of my kind. Imagine that kind of power. His strength will know no bounds."

"Personally, the idea of a vampire being able to hunt twenty four-seven scares the living shit out of me." Ian's choice of words made the vampire laugh. "What do you want from me?" Ian asked, taking another shot of whiskey. Vincent smirked at him, stroking his mustache like an evil villain in one of those old black and white movies. "I don't think the child has been born yet, but he will soon enough. When the time comes, I want you to help me capture him. I know that you thirst for vengeance. You see us vampires as a disease; this child holds the cure within his blood. With him, you can stop the spread." Ian's eyes narrowed, "Why are you telling me this? Do you want me to the irradiate the vampires?" "I see it as getting rid of the competition." Snickered Vincent. "Why me? Can't you find some other slayer to help you?" Vincent locked eyes with him, peering straight into Ian's soul, "I chose you because, you are the only one whose morals are twisted enough to help the enemy in order to get what you want. Besides, you and I both want the same thing, Davion dead." With that, Vincent went to the window. "I'll contact you again when I feel that the child has entered the world. Ta ta for now." He bid farewell and leapt through the window and into the night.

**Roughly Seventeen Years Later:**

As the day faded to twilight, the death like sleep left my eyes. I opened them; the blue orbs fought off the darkness within the coffin. My hand reached over to the space beside me and clenched into a fist when it didn't find what it was looking for. Davion had gotten up early again.

I groaned as I threw open the lid. "Damned stupid bat king!" I got out of the coffin and grabbed my red silk robe off of the back of a chair. I threw it on and tied the sash, then went and took my shower. Once I was squeaky clean, I dressed in a pair of jeans and a royal blue camisole.

By the time I got to the kitchen, the burning in my throat and empty stomach was unbearable. I grabbed five or six packs of medical blood and downed them in minutes. "What did I tell you about drinking so fast?" Isabella scolded as she sauntered into the room. She sat down at the bar; a blood filled wineglass in her hand. I reluctantly threw the empty packets of blood in the trash. "I couldn't help it. I feel like I haven't fed in a month. I rubbed at my raw throat. "Where's Davion?" I asked, taking another packet from the fridge. She shrugged nonchalantly. "A vampire showed up on the doorstep this morning, asking to be made part of the coven. I believe they're still discussing it in the sitting room."

I discarded the empty packet and skipped down the hall to the sitting room. Knocking on the door twice, I entered the room before being told to come in. Why the hell would I need permission? Davion and the new auburn haired vampire were sitting down in two black leather high backed chairs. Both had a smile on their faces so I figured they were getting along. Davion's smile grew when he saw me. He stood and extended his hand towards me. I took it and he introduced me to the newcomer. "Lumiere, this is my wife Dawn. Dawn, this is Lumiere." Great a Frenchman, "Hi" I greeted with a little wave and a kind smile. He was pretty handsome though. His eyes were gold, like Ark's had been but not nearly as intense. He got up from his seat and bowed then took my hand and kissed it like a good little French gentleman. "It is a pleasure to meet you, Your Grace." Davion could learn a few things from him.

He released my hand and stood up straight. He was wearing an off-white button up shirt and brown slacks with suspenders and his shoulder length auburn hair was pulled back in a ponytail. He looked like he'd just stepped out of the early 1900's. "How long have you been a vampire?" I asked, sweetly. He seemed to have to take a moment to think. "…Since 1906, I believe. It's hard to keep up with the years, they pass by like the seasons." I smiled, though my heart ached at the sadness in his voice. "That they do." I replied, softly. Sensing the tension in the room, Davion thoughtfully changed the subject, "Lumiere just moved here from Louisiana." That perked my interest. "Really? Do you know a man named Ian Harker?" I saw Davion's lips pull downward out the corner of my eye when I said this. Lumiere looked surprised by my question. "Uh…yes, I've had a few scuffles with the slayer. I usually ended up having to run away and hide. I'm not much of a fighter. I never could figure the guy out. I never hunt humans, I don't know why he chased me around New Orleans like he did when there were, how you say, 'bigger fish to fry.'" I sighed, "Simple, Ian's a prejudice psycho. There's not much else to the guy. He's just crazy." Both Davion and Lumiere nodded in agreement.

"Anyway, what did you do before you became one of the undead?" I asked jokingly. "I was a doctor. I was pretty good at it too, but after I was turned I quit. Seeing and smelling all that blood day in and day out was driving me insane." Our conversation went on and on. Lumiere was a pretty interesting fellow, he was nice and courteous, in all a perfect gentleman, but he seemed lonely. I made a mental note to fix him up with someone.

After I showed him to his room and helped him settle in, I dragged myself downstairs. I felt so weak and thirsty. More so than I had ever been in my eighteen years of being a vampire. "I'm going out for a hunt, cold blood isn't going to do it for me tonight. "Davion, you want to come?" Davion was engulfed in old texts. "Can't tonight darling, I have a meeting with the council tomorrow that I need to prepare for. Can I take a rain check?" I shrugged off my disappointment; " I'll hold you to it. I'll be back in a little bit." I said and quickly ran out the door.

I sprinted through the woods, catching everything I could, rabbits, mice, raccoons, deer, even a bear and still the thirst burned. _What the hell is wrong with me!_ I screamed in my head. Why wasn't the thirst weakening? It felt like all my feeding did was make it worse. Desperate to find relief, I went into the city in search of human pray. I had slaughtered a few homeless people before I realized what I was doing.

I dragged myself home and banged on the door, blood dripping from my mouth and covering my hands and front. I was still very, very weak. It didn't make any sense. It didn't feel like I had fed at all. Davion opened the door and I collapsed into his arms. "Dawn! Dawn, what happened!" I heard him yell as my eyes rolled back and I slipped away into nothing.

**Harker Manor:**

"MMM, This champagne is simply divine, won't you have a glass?" Veronica cooed from the bedroom. "No thanks." Replied Ian, typing away at his desk. "Ian, come to bed. I've been awaiting your attention for nearly an hour." Ian stayed focused on the computer screen, red lights flashed at several points on a map of New Orleans, marking sites of vampire attacks. "I'll be there in a minute."

Veronica sighed and slipped off the bed. She walked into his office, wearing black lacy underwear, her black curls tumbling down her back and her blue eyes sparkling in the candlelight. She had the beauty of a supermodel but the fierce intelligence of a corporate head. Veronica, the daughter of the Vice President of Ian's company had become his wife in late April of the previous year. He wasn't in love with her of course, he'd given his heart away to a young blonde when he was eighteen, but he was fond of her. And fondness was the closest thing to love that he could feel after Dawn.

She sat down on Ian's lap. Ian discreetly rolled his eyes. "May I remind you that it was _your_ idea to start a family. I can't make a baby by myself." Ian's lips pulled up in one corner, "Sure you can, it's a little more difficult, but it's possible." Veronica laughed and tousled Ian's blonde hair. "What were you working on anyway?" she asked, looking back at the laptop. "It's nothing." Ian began, running his fingers through her hair to gain her attention. She turned her face back towards him; a deadly glare set in her eyes. "You said you were done with that!" she screamed, jumping to her feet. Ian held his hands up in defense, "I am. I was just shutting down the tracking system." He got up and wrapped his arms around her waist, "I'm done fighting vampires, I swear." He kissed her but Veronica's lips remained motionless. She stood strong against his charms. "I hope so, because if you're not, I'll leave you." He looked into her blue eyes and saw that she was extremely serious. "Understood." He said and shut down his laptop.


	3. Impossible

Impossible

"Oh Shit!" cried Davion when Dawn collapsed in his arms. "Isabella, Lumiere, get in here!" Lumiere rushed into the room at once with Isabella right behind him. "What happened?" asked Lumiere, coming to Davion's aid. "I don't know, she just collapsed." Davion replied, his brows knitting together with dread. "Let's get her to a bed." Davion scooped her up and carried her limp body into their bedroom.

"Lumiere, you're a doctor, take a look at her." Said Isabella from the door. "I'm a human doctor. I don't know the first thing about vampire anatomy." He explained. "Just do it!" roared Davion. Lumiere knew better than to argue with the king. He rolled up his sleeves and began checking Dawn's vitals. "I-I don't feel a pulse." he stuttered. Davion smacked him upside the head, "Of course you don't. She's a vampire, she doesn't have a pulse! You idiot!"

"S-sorry. I'm just a little nervous. Do you mind if I remove her clothes?" he asked, his voice quivering. Davion's eyes narrowed, "Just watch were you put your hands." He hissed. Carefully, Lumiere striped Dawn down to her underwear and checked her over for any injuries. As his hand grazed the skin of her stomach, he felt a small movement. Astonished, he touched her stomach again. There was a jump and he could plainly see a bulge moving around beneath her skin. "What the devil?" he gasped to himself. "What is it?" asked Davion, leaning over him. "Watch this." He poked Dawn's stomach and the bulge moved over to the right. Davion and Lumiere exchanged bewildered glances. "W-we need an ultrasound machine." Davion gritted his teeth, "Where the hell are we supposed to get that?" "I'll call my associate down at the hospital. I'm sure he can get us in.," said Isabella before heading to the phone.

Half an hour later, they were in a van on their way to the hospital. Dawn hadn't moved a muscle in hours. She was as still as the dead, so to speak. They parked the van outside the hospital and Isabella's associate, Robert Ebbins, wheeled out a gurney.

Once they were inside the hospital, they wheeled her to the ultrasound room and prepped her for the procedure. Lumier ran the sensor over Dawn's stomach and watched the screen on the monitor come to life. A black and white image of something alive moved around. It opened its mouth to suck in the fluid that surrounded it and squeezed its tiny fists. "I-it's a baby." Lumier gasped. Davion stumbled backwards and fell into a chair, his green eyes fixated on the monitor. "That…can't be." He choked. Isabella walked slowly over to where Dawn lay and placed her slender hand on her stomach. Her eyes bulged as the baby moved inside her. "The child of legend." Isabella whispered, "It's the Child Born of Blood. The one who will free us from the darkness… he's finally come." Bloody tears streaked down her cheeks.

Davion had Lumier run a number of tests to try and figure out why this had happened. All vampiresses were supposed to be barren. It was rare enough for a male vampire to father a half-breed with a human. So much so in fact that Davion had believed it was completely impossible for any vampire to reproduce until Ark revealed that Davion himself was a descendant of a half-breed. This, a child born from the union of two vampires, was completely unheard of. "What did you find?" Davion asked Lumier as soon as he got the tests results back. "Well, it wasn't you, you're completely normal…as far as vampires go anyway. Whatever human blood was passed on to you has been so diluted that it doesn't show up at all in your genetics. Dawn however… has an error in her genetic code. She has one more chromosome than she should have. Vampires like you and me have twenty-four chromosomes she has twenty-five." Davion paced the floor as he thought. Could that be a side affect of the blood he gave her when she was human? "I gave her some of my blood when she was human, that might be the cause of the defect." Lumier nodded and looked back down at the result sheet without further questions. "Oh and I got a sample of the embryonic fluid to test for similar defects." "Yea?" Davion prodded. "Get this…the baby has a total of thirty chromosomes. Thirty! Can you believe it!" Davion swallowed the venom that had pooled in his mouth at Lumier's enthusiasm. His dulling eyes drifted back to Dawn's quivering form. Dark circles had formed around her eyes, and she looked thinner, her hair and the sheet that covered her were drenched in sweat. Her head flopped from side to side on the pillow as if she were trying desperately to fight against something in her dreams. Something was frightening her. If only he could enter her mind and shield her from whatever it was. He sat down and took her clammy hand in his, "Wake up Dawn, please, love. Wake up." He whispered, stroking his wife's head in a desperate attempt to comfort her.

**Dawn's Dream:**

In an instant, I went from standing on my front porch in the middle of June, to standing in an endless field amidst the blizzard of the century. The wind whipped against my back and legs. Ice and snow clung to my already icy skin and made the thin fabric of the ridiculous white sundress I was wearing stiff and uncomfortable. Through the white haze of the snowstorm, a vibrant splash of red drew my attention. As I approached, the red splash focused in my vision. It was the blossoming flowers of a cherry blossom tree. How could that be? How could a cherry blossoms be in full bloom in the middle of all this ice and snow?

And then…I saw him. At the base of the tree sat a person wearing a white hooded cloak, much like the ones the council wore. I hadn't noticed him before because he'd blended so well with the snow. I stopped at the base of the tree and stared at the man, unable to move. Something drew me to him but I couldn't bring myself to take another step closer. The man was sitting with his knees pulled up to his chest, his form shivering in the cold. He weakly turned his head towards me, and a pair of strange colored eyes blazed at me through the darkness of the hood. One blue eye, and one green. He reached out with a gnarled, frozen hand. Ice had glazed over the bronze toned flesh of his arm and claw like hand. He lightly placed his hand on my stomach and said, "A flame needs air to kindle a torch, more to become a fire, even more to become blaze and still more to become a furnace." He took a ragged breath and added, "Without air, the flame smothers and dies." The man's mix-matched eyes closed, his body slumped and his hand dropped to the snow covered ground. Behind him, the cherry blossoms blew away in the wind leaving both man and tree dead in the snow.

**Dawn Awakens:**

I awoke in a dizzying haze. There were red edges to my vision and the world whirled around me. I found myself lying in one of our spare bedrooms. _Odd_, I thought. I had no idea what had happened. I tried to get up but couldn't because of something on my stomach. I looked down at myself and found that I had three IVs hooked up to me, one through my navel and one in both wrists. "What the?" I rasped, my voice sounding weak and foreign to my ears. I yanked all three of them out and hoisted myself out of bed. As soon as they were removed, the red color left my eyes and the burning thirst returned. Lumier came through the door and sighed at the sight of me, "You shouldn't have done that." He groaned. I took three steps then swooned again. And once again Davion was there to catch me. He always is. I gazed admiringly at his perfect face, the face I loved so dearly, and found that it had changed drastically since the last time I had admired it. His blazing green eyes had dulled as if their fire had been extinguished and his perfect lips were pressed together in a thin line. His jaw was tightly set and his brow was wrinkled with worry. He looked at least thirty years older. "Let's get those IVs back in." He said and carried me back to the bed. He held me down as Lumier rammed the IV needles back into my veins and stomach. I thrashed about on the bed trying desperately to get free, but he held me firmly in his grip. "What are you doing? Davion! Why are you doing this to me?" I screamed, frightened tears rolling down my face. What he said next chilled me down to the core. "We have to feed the baby." He said. "Are you crazy?" I screeched in his face and fought harder against him. Isabella heard the commotion and came to Davion's aid. She placed her hands on my stomach to help hold me down but when her hand touched my skin, I felt something within me move toward her. I began screaming hysterically and knocked Isabella and Davion to the wall. Lumier finally had to sedate me.

Perhaps two or three days later, I'm not sure, I woke up again. As soon as I did I began cursing at Lumier and demanding answers for the way they had treated me. All it took for him to explain was an ultrasound photo of the thing that was inside me, my baby. I stared and stared at the blurry black and white image; unable to comprehend how it could have happened. "I-I don't understand. I can't be pregnant. I mean, I don't even have a period anymore. It's impossible." I croaked my throat was dry and itchy. Isabella handed me a cup of blood and smiled, "They said it was impossible for a virgin to conceive too, but we know of one who did." She giggled. Oh great, now they're comparing me Mary. Lumier was much more sensible. He explained everything to me in scientific terms that I didn't really understand, but I got the gist of what he was saying. That was enough for me. It didn't matter whether it made since or not; I was still going to have a baby. "So what's with all this crap?" I asked, indicating the wires and tubes they had me hooked up to. "The baby needs a lot more blood than you can supply it with. So we're helping you out." Isabella smiled and rubbed my stomach affectionately. "This is a very special child you have here, Dawn. Our forefathers foretold of a great warrior that would someday be born to liberate us from the eternal night. I never thought I'd get to see it." She mused, grinning from ear to ear. I'd had quite enough of her at this point. "Where's Davion? I want to see him." Isabella sighed, "He's in his study, researching the Child of Blood legends."_ Child of Blood, _is that what they called my baby? I suddenly felt ill and threw up half a gallon of blood all over Isabella.

Once I was feeling better, Lumier helped me into a wheelchair and wheeled me down to Davion's study. Isabella clung to my side, with the IV stand. Before we even got to the door, I could hear Davion snarling in frustration and throwing things. "Why Ark!" We heard him scream at the top of his lungs. Isabella flinched at her deceased mate's name. "I have no idea what I'm doing! How could you leave us? Now when I needed your council most!" Lumier opened the door just as Davion threw another book and slammed his fists down on the table, "Curse you." He whimpered, hanging his head in despair. "Davion?" I croaked. Davion immediately straitened and brushed his jet-black hair away from his face. His eyes were even duller than they were the other night. "Dawn, how are you feeling?" he asked in a strained voice. I asked Isabella and Lumier to leave us for a moment. They gladly complied. "Do you yell at dead men often?" I asked as soon as I heard the door close behind me.

Davion swallowed hard and his fists clenched at his sides. "I was…frustrated. I don't know how this happened or what to do. I'm…afraid." His face twisted into a mask of torturous pain. He fell to his knees before my wheelchair and buried his face into the blanket on my lap. I watched his shoulders quiver as he sobbed. His hands clasped mine tightly. I waited patiently, combing his silky hair with my fingers. He soon calmed himself enough that he could meet my gaze and speak, "I'm afraid I'm going to lose you, Dawn…so afraid." His voice quivered. I had _never_ seen him this upset in the nearly twenty years I'd known him, not even when my mortal body was about to die. "You won't lose me, darling. I'm immortal. Remember? I can't die that easily. Having a baby will be a piece of cake, compared to the crap we had to deal with in the beginning." He shook his head mournfully and picked up a tattered, leather-bound book he'd thrown on the floor. He gave it to me and turned it to an illustrated page in the back. The book was written in Latin, or course, but the picture told me more than words ever could.

My eyes bulged in disgusted horror. "What is this?" I gasped in a strangely frightened voice. "The birth of the Blood Child." He said in a dull, dead voice. The illustration depicted a woman with long blonde hair giving birth. A bloody sharp toothed child clawed its way out of the woman's belly; pieces of its mother's flesh were in the creature's mouth. Blood was splattered everywhere, painting the walls like some morbid masterpiece. Three people stood at the birthing room door. A red haired man gawked at the scene, a tall woman, in a blood stained dress shrieked in horror and a tall dark haired man, clasped his hand over his mouth as he stared at the woman being torn apart by her child. I slammed the book shut and shoved it off my lap. Davion said nothing. I hissed between my teeth.

I'd always wanted to be a mother, but not like this. I was scared out of my mind. "We've already tried to abort it but nothing hurts it." He shivered and rested his head in his hands. "I've condemned you to death." I glared down at him; "You tried to _abort_ our baby without my consent." I snarled. Davion scowled, "It's going to kill you, Dawn." "So be it." I snapped. He moaned in agony at my words. I sighed and drew him into my arms; "I don't believe your stupid legends and superstitions." Davion's dull green eyes burrowed into me, a bitter chuckle echoed in his chest, "You live in a world of legends and superstitions and yet you still refuse to believe them?" I traced his jaw with my fingertips and brushed his hair away from his forehead. "I don't, no…I can't believe this child is evil. He's apart of me and you that's why I want him, because he's yours, Davi." A small smile graced me with its presence when I called Davion by his nickname. He hated it but it always made him smile for some reason. I kissed the corner of his mouth and wrapped my arms around his neck; he in turn laced his arms around my waist. "I promise you, I _will_ survive this. Nothing will ever take me from you."


	4. My Baby Your Monster

My Baby, Your Monster

Davion's attitude towards the baby didn't improve as time went on. Day by day, the baby bump was growing. Lumier calculated that the baby was growing twice as fast as a normal human baby, which cut the pregnancy timeline in half. The baby was due in about four months. Already, I was getting attached to my little Davie. I could tell he liked to be held, because whenever someone touched my stomach, he'd move right to their hand. It made me smile every time I felt him move. I tried to get Davion to feel it, but he couldn't bring himself to do it. Instead, he decided to avoid me more and more as the bump got larger.

One day, I was sitting with Isabella in the kitchen while she helped me look through some catalogs for some baby furniture. I was only half-paying attention. I was watching Davion pace the living room while he talked on his cell phone with an Elder. "He's really starting to piss me off." I hissed beneath my breath. Isabella laughed lightly and patted my hand, "Be patient with him dear. He feels kind of helpless right now. He doesn't know what to expect." I rolled my eyes at her, "What does he expect? That the baby's going to rule the world or something?" Isabella went silent, giving me a look that said, _That's exactly what he's afraid of…that and loosing you. _I sighed in exasperation, "Oh my god! You're all freaking insane!" Giving up on all of them, I went upstairs and threw myself on the bed for a nap.

**Dream:**

I found myself walking down a staircase, into a pitch-black room. Even my vampire sight couldn't pierce through the darkness. I could hear someone, a man, groaning in agony. Rounding the corner, I saw a cage of some sort at the far end of the room. From the foul stench I knew it was made of silver. The man's screams were emanating from it. "Hello?" I called. A wild creature flung himself at the bars, scaring me half to death. It wasn't a creature, it was a man, the same man I'd seen in the blizzard. Only he was more monster than man now, crazed by starvation. His bones stuck out and his fangs jutted from his mouth like sharp daggers in a permanent grimace. He reached out to me, slashing the air in a desperate attempt to catch me with his claws, his jaws snapping with sickening sounds. "BLOOD!!! BLOOOD!!! BLOOOD AND FLESH!!! GIVE IT TO ME!!!" he raged, flinging himself at the bars again and again until his own black blood poured down his face.

I jolted in bed, gasping and screaming. My stomach growled, my baby begging for nourishment. I could feel the torturous burn and weakness again so I knew he'd already drained me of my morning meal. I flew down the stairs to the fridge and drank every ounce of blood we had, still the baby begged, wanting more. That's when my eye settled on the packet of hamburger meat Isabella had gotten for Alucard and Sunshine, because according to her, store-bought cat food is bad for them. I tore into the plastic with my teeth and gorged myself on the sweet bloody morsels.

I heard a gasp behind me and whirled around with a hiss. Isabella was staring at me. "What do you think you're doing?" she huffed, snatching the meat away, "Are you trying to make yourself sick?" I shook my head, still chewing one the meat in my mouth. "The baby wanted it. Now give it back!" Isabella looked at me in confusion. "You don't feel sick?" she asked. "No, now give it back. I'm starving here."

Isabella tugged me into Davion's study. Davion was sitting at his desk with his head down. "Davion!" Isabella called. Davion righted himself and glowered up at us, his once luminescent green eyes now almost gray. "Davion, she's eating meat!" she said as if making a great scientific discovery. Davion's eyes widened, "What? Dawn, I thought you wanted the baby?" He said with evident relief. I glared at him as I swallowed the wad of meat I'd been chewing on. "I do. I just had this craving for meat that's all. I feel fine." Isabella grinned, "The legend says that the Child of Blood will not be a slave to his thirst. Seems now we know why." I watched Davion swallow, his eyes tightening as they fell to my swollen stomach. "He can sustain himself by _other _means." I didn't like the way he was looking at the bump. _This isn't good. He's getting too powerful. I have to end this now before it gets out of hand. If this kid is let out in the world… He'll take over and we'll be powerless against him. I have to kill it now while it's still weak. Perhaps while she sleeps… _I could hear his musing voice in my head. It sent shivers down my spine.

I wrapped my arms protectively around my belly. I felt the baby nestle itself against my arms. "Stop glaring at him!" I shouted with ferocity. Davion visibly jumped. I bared my teeth at him, extending one clawed hand in defense while the other cradled my belly. "Dawn, what's gotten into you?" Davion asked, stepping towards me. I let out a roar, snapping at him, "Don't come any closer!" "Dawn?" Isabella touched my shoulder. I ripped at her with my claws and cut into her arm. She yelped and backed away. "Get out of here, Isabella! Dawn's obviously lost it!" Davion growled. She nodded in agreement and bolted out the door.

"I have not lost it!" I shrieked. "You're the one who's lost his mind!" I barked. I was so full of rage at that moment I could hardly see strait. I sank into a crouch, preparing to fight for my child's life. Davion stuck his hands in the pockets of his black jeans and leaned against the fire place mantle. "I'm not about to fight you, Dawn." I felt tears prick my eyes as they burned with hatred at the man I loved. "I can't believe you! How can you ever think of killing your own son!" My hand gripped my belly tighter. Davion's worried expression turned to one of confusion. "How do you know what I was thinking?" My eyes narrowed into slits, "I just know." I said, not wanting to give him anymore reasons to be afraid of our son. I couldn't tell him I'd heard his thoughts, thoughts that he hadn't meant for me to hear.

I leapt at him and grabbed him by his collar. He made no attempt to struggle against me. "I'm warning you! If you lay one hand on my baby I'll drive the stake through your heart myself!" I roared in his face then threw him to the floor. He was back on his feet in an instant. I shoved him out of my way and stalked towards the door. "That's not a baby, Dawn. It's a monster." I turned my head to glare at him, "Keep talking like that and I'll leave your ass." I said in a low voice. He made a choking noise and slumped back to his desk. "Have fun on the couch." I said as I left.

The next morning as we prepared for our daily rest, I passed Davion conked out on the couch, on my way once more to the kitchen. I couldn't help but laugh evilly at his uncomfortable position. Served him right for threatening my little Davie. I patted my tummy affectionately; _it'll be okay, sweetie. I won't let that mean old Daddy hurt you. _I thought to my baby. And then strangely enough, I thought I heard a little voice say, _I love you mommy._


	5. Goodbye Forever

Goodbye…Forever

"Good night, everybody." I said to everyone as I got up from the couch. Isabella smiled up at me from her needle work and Lumier bid me good night with a little bow of his head. I turned towards Davion who sat slumped in his chair, resting his cheek on his knuckles and his jet black hair falling over his eyes. I brushed his hair away from his face and kissed his cheek, "Good night, Davion. I love you." I whispered. He didn't move. He just sat there. I don't think he even looked at me. Where had the man I married gone? Then I saw his eyes shift towards me. I could see a faint reflection of his old self within them. "Sweet dreams." he whispered, his voice was dull, like all hope had drained from him. Yet, I sensed his words held a hidden meaning. The way he stared into me, made me want to cringe. His eyes fell to my stomach and his mouth twisted into a deep scowl. He made a disgusted sound and turned his face away, as if the very sight of me made him want to retch. That was when I knew…_my_ Davion was dead.

My body felt like led by the time I laid down in my coffin and closed its lid. My eyes shut the minute it was closed and I drifted into sleep.

**Dream:**

I was walking down a long hallway. It was dark. The only light came from the candles that lined the walls. At the end of the hall I could see a big door. Behind me I could hear what sounded like the ghouls. I still had nightmares about our fight with Nos, when we had to fight our way through hoards of the nasty things. When I came at the end of the hall I pushed the giant doors open. It opened to what looked a lot like the inside of a cabin, hardwood floors, walls that looked more like stacked logs. There was a fire place and a fur rug on the floor. Standing in front of the fire was a man. He had long white hair, tan skin and those multicolored eyes flamed at me, his entire body outlined with golden light. It was the same man from my other dreams! Who was he? And why was I dreaming about him?

I heard deep animalistic growls coming from the fireplace. Out from the flames sprung two wolves one midnight black, the other dark chocolate brown. They circled the white haired man once then stood at his side, the black wolf on his right and the brown one on his left. I shook away my initial shock. "W-who are you?" I asked, tearing my stare away from the enormous wolves. The man stepped towards me, the wolves walked closely with him like body guards. The man placed his hand on my cheek and stroked it gently. "I wish I could spare you this path of pain and despair that lies ahead of you, but I cannot. Forgive me." He bent and kissed my cheek. "You are in grave danger." He said lowly against my skin. "Wake up!" He shouted jumping away. He took me by the shoulders and shook me, his eyes wide with fear. "Wake up, Dawn! You must wake up!" He screamed. I could feel him quivering with panic. The wolves began to growl.

My eyes popped open and I instantly wished I hadn't awakened. Davion was looming over me with a knife raised above his head, ready to plunge it into my swollen belly.

I sprung from my resting place, knocking Davion to the ground. "What are you doing?!" I screeched, trying to contemplate the image I'd awoken to. Davion, the man I loved, the man who'd once sworn to protect me even from himself, had just tried to cut our baby from my womb. "Have you lost your freaking mind!" His eyes now slate grey, sparked, becoming as red as the flames that danced in the fireplace behind him. "It has to die, Dawn. I have no other choice." He ran at me, still clutching the knife. I extended my claws and prepared to defend myself from my own husband.

Suddenly, Isabella, flew in between us and slammed her hands into Davion's chest. The force of her blow sent him flying backwards. He crashed into our coffin, smashing it to pieces. "Dawn, run!" she told me, her voice wavering. I took one last look at Davion, saw the murderous look in his eyes, then turned and ran.

I jumped into my little red car, and drove off as fast as I could. The sun was rising in the east. I needed to stop, but a little voice inside my head said, _"No, keep going. Don't stop."_ The sun rose and I kept expecting to burst into flames at any minute, but I never did. I rubbed my big belly and whispered, "Thank you, baby."

As I drove I thought about what I was doing. I was leaving Davion. How could things change so drastically in just a few months? Before I got pregnant, Davion would never have hurt me. But now…I felt my heart breaking in two. He was a different person now, someone uncaring, someone cruel, somebody I didn't recognize, and couldn't believe he'd become. My body felt like it was breaking apart from the inside, tears fell freely from my eyes and stained the front of my night gown. The love of my life was gone, replaced instead with a stranger. I always thought he and I would be together forever…but I was wrong…I've been wrong about a lot of things. What hurt the most was that I now realized that my father had been right all along. Even now I remembered his words. They echoed loudly in the dark cavern where my heart used to be. "_I warn you daughter, don't me fooled by his unearthly beauty for seduction is the vampire's greatest weapon." _I should have listened to him. I'd given up everything and everyone to be with Davion. Now I had no one…no one to turn to…nowhere to go.

"_Pull over"_ said the tiny voice. I wiped the tears from my eyes and did as I was told. I now found myself in central park. The place was buzzing, in preparation for Fashion Week. I guessed. Sweaty people were putting up big white tents and preppy people in fancy clothes walked by me, sipping on Starbucks coffee and talking on expensive cell phones, oblivious to the crying pregnant girl in a night gown leaning against a car. "What do you want me to see?" I asked the voice. _"Look at the sign."_ I looked around and saw a sign a few feet to my left. It read: _**New Designer, Anna Valintegra, Debut! **_I ran my hand across the name. "It can't be." I told myself.

I went slowly back to my car and got back behind the wheel. My head was whirling. "I can't go to her for help. She hates me. Plus she's a werewolf. She'll just try to kill me." I told both myself and the voice. _"Do you have a better idea?"_ Man, this voice was starting to get annoying. Why was I even listening to it? What was it? _"You know who I am." _said the voice with an impish giggle. My eyes widened, "Baby?" _"That's right. I know you're scared right now, but trust me. I know your past and your future. This is the path you must take. It is your destiny. Trust me, Mommy." _I listened intently to my child, then took a deep breath. "I trust you."

I got out of the car and walked slowly towards one of the big tents. The people around me gave me strange looks, but none of them stopped to check if I was alright, regardless of the bloody tear stains on my night gown. It's New York. What do you expect? Then I caught sight of all the fashion models. They were all so glamorous and perfect and…intimidating. "Forget it." I said aloud and turned abruptly around, intent on running back to my car, only to ram right into some guy. He had been holding a bunch of Starbucks coffee cups. One cup dumped all over his nice white shirt. "Oh crap! I'm so sorry!" I gushed, wiping at the stain with my hands. "It's okay, don't worry about it. I've got it." He said in a deep, amused voice. He took out a napkin from his pocket and wiped up the coffee. "How much was that coffee? I can pay you back. I'm really sorry." I said, looking up at his face. He had a nice face. His jaw was wide and strong and his wavy dark brown hair was brushed away from his face and fell over his ears. His eyes were golden brown and they looked warm and inviting. He was a pretty big guy, 6'5 maybe with a muscular build. You could tell he was older, but what can I say? The guy was hot. "It's alright. You only spilled, _my _coffee_." _He said with a big grin.

I looked down at the big brown stain on his shirt, "You're shirt's ruined." I pointed out. "I've got a spare." he said with a light laugh. That's when he looked at me, I mean really looked at me. His eyes went wide and his smile turned into an expression of concern, "Are you alright?" He asked me in a whisper. This sort of caught me off guard because until this point I'd been pretty much ignored. "I-I'm fine." "Where did this blood come from?" he asked, his forehead crumpling. "Nose bleed. I'm fine really." He shook his head, "You don't look fine. No offense, but you look like crap." I lowered my eyes and brushed at my tangled hair, "Do I?" You'd think me being a vampire would mean that I looked great all the time but I guess a day like today would make anyone look bad. "I um…I've had a rough day. You see, I left my husband today." He took a step back with an understanding, "Oh." There was a moment of silence. "How's the little one?" He asked, his eyes falling to my belly. "Still as strong as ever." He smirked, "That's good to hear."

I watched him take off his jacket and drape it over my shoulders. "Here", he said with a gentle smile. "Thank you." I replied. "Come with me. I just have to deliver this coffee. Then we'll get you some clean clothes and something to eat. Okay?" I smiled slightly, "That sounds wonderful." We walked along through the mob of fashion people, not saying anything for a while. I stared up at the back of his head. Who was this guy and why was he so darn nice? "Um…what's your name?" I asked hesitantly. He turned his head slightly, his big grin once again lighting up his face. "Hannibal Kain." "Cool name." I said. It really was an awesome name. He cocked his head to the side slightly like a curious dog, "Really? I used to get teased about it." Who the heck would pick on him? The man was huge! "Why?" I asked. He gave me a playful smirk, "Haven't you ever seen "Silence of the Lambs"? … "Oh" I replied, "Well, my name's Dawn" He chuckled like I'd just said something hilarious, "Is there a last name to go along with that? Or is it just Dawn like Sunny and Cher?" I couldn't help but laugh too, his laugh was contagious, "Dawn Night." I corrected through giggle fits.

We entered one of the big tents and through the bustling model crowd, a tall woman in a sleek black dress and killer stilettos appeared. Her long, wavy black hair hung down to her lower back and her golden eyes burned like cooling embers. My breath caught in my throat. No doubt…this goddess…was Anna Valintegra.

**Meanwhile Back at Dawn and Davion's House:**

Isabella lay beaten and bloodied on the floor. Davion pressed his boot against her back. "You've interfered one too many times." spat Davion. He pressed down harder and Isabella let out a scream. Lumier watched helplessly from a corner. "You've been like a mother to me. I really don't want to kill you. So tell me why you stopped me. You know I was only doing what is best for us." "The Child of Blood must live. He must live so that we can be free from this wretched curse. Can't you see that?" Isabella groaned. Davion kicked her in her side, making her scream even louder. "But at what cost, Isabella? The lives of millions? No. I know what that thing is going to do and it will not set us free. It will enslave us. Am I the only one who has not been blinded by false hope?" With that he picked Isabella up by her hair, "Your savior will be our demise." Davion hissed in her ear then threw her to Lumier. "Let this be a warning to you. I will save this world and I do not care who gets in my way. Cross me again and you _will _die!"


	6. At the Mercy of the Diva

At The Mercy of the Diva

Davion stared out at the New York skyline, his heavy heart feeling as if it would crumble to dust within his rib cage. _Why must it be this way?_ He wondered, bitterly, grinding his sharp teeth together. "Why us? Why out of all the vampires in the world did it have to be us?" He hissed beneath his breath, his eyes now permanently red as the freshest blood. "No one knows what fate has in store for them." said a cool, calm, voice. It was a startling contrast to Davion's mood. Davion turned to glare with hatred at the councilwoman, Sinbalia. She had always sat at Ark's right hand. He knew she was very wise but Davion didn't want to think she was at this particular moment. "I hear Dawn got away." Sinbalia, said matter-of-factly. "It wasn't my fault! Isabella got in the way!" Sinbalia flashed him a look that sent shivers down Davion's spine. She was a great elder, even older that Ark had been. Her skin was bone white and her hair was long and just as pale. It hung around her face like a cobweb. Her eyes burned a fierce red at all hours, no matter how much she fed. "If you cannot even kill an unborn child, then you are not fit to be king. Our people depend on you too much for you to fall prey to such weakness. The Child of Blood must die…soon. We're running out of time. Once he is born he will be too powerful for even I to touch." Sinbalia spat, folding her arms within the sleeves of her black councilor's robe.

Davion felt like strangling the old vampire then and there. "It's not that easy!" he fired back. "You're not the one who has to cut open you wife!" Sinbalia's uncaring expression didn't change. "Everyone has to make sacrifices for the sake of peace in this world. We cannot give the humans any more reason to hate us. Enough of us are destroyed every day as it is. One less Helsing in the world is a good thing, I'd say." Davion's eyes narrowed, "Are you talking about Dawn?" he asked, he could barely believe what he was hearing. The old one nodded slowly. "Wait…you're saying she would've died as well if I had succeeded?" Sinbalia's pale lips curved upward slightly, "Yes, she's going to die. It's only a matter of time. What's with that shocked look on you face, Lord Davion? You didn't actually believe her vampire powers would save her did you?" She chuckled when she saw that that was indeed the case. "The child's unique blood is coursing through her veins now. Her body is going through a metamorphosis." Davion's legs began to shake uncontrollably with shock and horror. "What's she changing into?" he asked, already knowing the answer. The woman's smile grew into a wicked leer, "He's slowly turning her human. She will not survive the birth. He needs her for his first meal when he enters this world." Davion fell to his knees. Sinbalia glided over to him and laid her long nailed hand on his head, "You see, your wife is already a walking corpse. It would have been a much more merciful end if you had done it youerself. By the time he's done with her, she'll be begging for a quick death."

**Dawn:**

"There you are! Where the hell have you been?! The show starts in less than half an hour!" Anna hissed at Hannibal, my rescuer. She snatched her Starbucks coffee out the trey he carried while he fumbled around for an excuse. "Sorry, Annie, I got a little side tracked." He said, motioning towards me. Anna's all too familiar golden eyes widened when they fell on me. I watched as her coffee fell from her hand and splattered on the ground. "N-no! Y-you're dead!" Anna stuttered, fright evident on her face. "What's wrong?" asked Hannibal looking back and forth between me and Anna. Anna shook away the horrified look on her face and that way too familiar glare appeared. It was the same one Maria used to give me all the time, just for breathing. "Hannibal, this is my sister, Dawn. You know, the one who was killed by a v…a…m…p…i…r…e?" she spelled out with her lips so no one else nearby could hear. You would think that he'd be just as frightened as Anna had been but instead he got this weird excited puppy look on his face. "Really? …Yea…I can see the resemblance." Hannibal said, looking at me very closely and squinting his eyes. "How'd you get away? Did you punch him on the nose? I hear that works. It's supposed to shock their senses, kind of like a shark." I saw Anna role her eyes behind him. Get away? Why would they think that? Wasn't it obvious that I'd been turned? "No, I didn't get away. I'm a vampire too. Davion turned me." Hannibal's face turned from boyishly cute to very confused. He looked back at Anna and Anna looked at him. "What are you talking about?" Anna asked, shaking her head, "You look perfectly human to me." Hannibal nodded and crossed his arms, looking at me like I was off my rocker. "Yea, and you smell human too."

I shook my head wildly. "I-I don't understand." Anna reached into her stylish red purse and pulled out a compact mirror. "Here, see for yourself." she said, tossing me the mirror. I opened the mirror, expecting to see nothing in the glass, but when I looked I saw the reflection of my old face. My very human face. I touched my red cheeks with shaking fingers. My eyes were red and puffy and my face looked drawn from all that crying. My eyes no longer glowed in an eerie luminescent way. I looked perfectly…normal. "Oh…my…God!" I squeaked. I closed the mirror and gripped my baby bump with my hands. I wasn't sure what was happening to me but I did know one thing. My son was responsible. That's when it dawned on me. The need for sleep, the cravings for meat, the resistance to sunlight, all of it was because I was slowly becoming human. Which also meant I had less than a month to live before he ripped me apart. "What's going on, Dawn? Why are you here?" Anna asked with very wolf like eyes. "I…uh. I left Davion. I needed a place to stay and …well…you're the only person I can go to now." Anna's glare intensified as it fell to where my hands lay across my swollen stomach. "Is Davion the father?" she asked, still staring at it. I nodded weakly. "Then you've wasted your time." she said coldly. She spun around on her heel, "I don't have time for this." she said as she strode away.

I wrapped my arms around myself, to protect my skin from the chill her words had given me. "I'm such an idiot." I croaked, miserably. Hannibal gave me a small smile and wrapped one arm protectively around my shoulder. "Don't worry about it. She's just under a lot of stress right now. I'll have a talk with her after the show, okay?" I wiped at my eyes with the back of my hand. "Do you really think she'll listen to you?" I asked in a weak, defeated voice. He grinned reassuringly, "Annie's stubborn but, I'm sure I can get her to come around." There he goes calling her Annie again. She hated being called Annie. "Um…how do you know Anna, exactly?" His golden brown eyes twinkled mischievously, "She's my wife." he said with a proud smile. I gawked at him as he led me to a dressing room. And he went to change his shirt. He got me a an over sized sundress and some sandals from Anna's line. She really was talented. The dress was pretty and I felt incredibly feminine and comfortable. And the killer sandals weren't too bad either. I washed my face and brushed my hair. I looked a lot better now. The seeing myself in a common mirror thing was really shocking. I was so used to my vampire face that I barely recognized the girl in my reflection. "You okay in there?" Asked Hannibal with a knock on the door. I slowly exited the dressing room and the two of us went to take our seats on the front row at the end of the runway where Anna's fashion line was being debuted.

It was hard to fathom that the little five year old girl I used to baby sit had grown into the fashion diva that designed all the fabulous clothing that the rail thin models sashayed down the runway before me in. Every outfit looked like it belonged on a warrior queen or goddess. It amazed me that each piece flattered every part of the female body and gave the wearer a unique glow of power and femininity. At the end of the show, Anna herself sashayed down the runway, her body moving with the kind of confidence I could only dream of. She was wearing a sheik midnight blue dress with a skirt that hugged her hips then flared out at mid thigh. The top was heart shaped and it hugged her body perfectly, beneath the shimmering blue fabric was an underlying sheer fabric with golden flecks in it that made the cloth around her legs look like a starlit night. When she came to the end of the runway, she stroke a mighty pose. She put her hands on her hips and spread her legs so that she looked like she was about to beat the crap out of someone. Then her eyes flared with a predatory gleam and her lips puckered into the most sultry pout I've ever seen. Before she spun around to make her way back, she blew the audience a kiss and popped her leg, so that her whole leg showed through the slit in the dress. The crowd went insane! Hannibal, Mr. Charming, Sweet Husband shouted, "That's it baby! Work it!" From his seat beside me. He even started panting and howling like a wolf. That was…interesting. If I had any doubts about what he was they were put to rest then and there. At least baby sister had a decent love life. Even though she was a cruel, heartless harpy, I had to admit, Anna was pretty damn good.

"Okay, come with me, we'll get you something to eat while I have a talk with Anna." Whispered Hannibal as we made our way backstage after the show. "Say, how did she learn to walk like that? She looked like a real model up there." He chuckled and a devilish smile curved his lips, "She happens to be the most sought after lingerie model in England right now." I sighed at that. Good grief! Is there any part of her life that isn't perfect?! I mean her husband was practically drooling over her. Davion never made that much of a fuss over me. Maybe that should've been a sign.

When we came into Anna's private dressing room, we found Anna sitting in a chair in her underwear and a robe with assistants running around her, fixing her hair, doing her nails and make up, etc. At this moment she reminded me of a queen. Over to the left was a buffet table loaded with doughnuts, vegetables, humungous shrimp, chips, dip and other stuff. My mouth started to water when my eyes found the red velvet cake. It was my favorite when I was younger. I did seem to be human now so what the heck. If I got sick so be it! I gave Hannibal a pathetic begging look. "Go ahead." As soon as he gave me the go ahead, I rushed over to the table and started stuffing my face. You have no idea how good that food was! After nearly twenty years of drinking nothing but blood, it was like I was eating the food of the gods! As I ate merrily, I watched Hannibal and Anna out the corner of my eye.

Hannibal drew her to the side and dismissed her assistants, leaving us alone in the room. "Please, Anna, reconsider your decision. Let Dawn stay with us. She _is_ your sister after all." Pleaded Hannibal. How the heck did a horrible person like Anna snag such a wonderfully sweet guy?! "No! I will not! You may be willing to trust her but I don't! Must I remind you that she and that vampire lover of hers are responsible for both Leo and Anthony's deaths? Not to mention twenty other members of my clan! As far as I'm concerned, she's a murderer! I won't do it!" That really hurt. I had never really thought about it that way. To us they were the enemy. We were trying to save her but to her they were her family. Perhaps even more so than Maria, dad or I. "I know that but don't you feel just the least bit sorry for her?" said, Hannibal. "No." Anna replied coldly. "You may be willing to put our children in danger but I'm not!" She tried to get around Hannibal but he caught her by the arm and pulled her into his rock hard body. I watched in jealousy as he held her tight. _How long has it been since Davion held me that way? _I wondered. "Don't be like that." Hannibal whispered against her neck in a sensual voice. "You remember what it was like to be on your own for the first time, don't you? How scared and alone you felt?" He angled her face towards his and he rubbed his thumb lovingly against her cheek. "Do you have to bring that up every time we get in an argument?" She growled. He gave her an amused, crooked grin, "Until I'm dead." He chuckled. "I want to help her. We can put her in the guest house if you want." Anna glared weakly into Hannibal's tender gaze. "I don't understand why you care so much about what happens to her. You helped Leo track her the night of the attack, if I'm not mistaken." Hannibal glanced quickly towards me, "She's pregnant. No matter what she may have done or what the child may be, it's still a baby. I want to her help her for his sake." Anna sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose like she was trying to relieve a headache. "Fine. She can stay in the lake house." "Thank you, Baby!" Hannibal yelled, as he hugged her and gave her a big kiss. "But I don't want her to be left alone with the pups at any time. Got it! She's _your_ responsibility!" Hannibal gave her another kiss then let her go so she could return to her throne and many servants.

He walked towards me with a big grin on his face, looking like a victorious general returning from a war. "I hope you like kids." he said, giving me the good news. I jumped up and down happily clapping my hands and nearly chocking on the doughnut I was eating. "How did you do that?" I asked, amazed at what he had just accomplished. He winked at me, "A husband has his ways." he said slyly.


	7. Protectors and Hunters

Protectors and Hunters

William van Helsing lay in his bed, a respirator wheezing beside him. Around him were several members of the Helsing Organization, along with his beloved wife, Maria, and his son Nickolas. Everyone wore black, the color of mourning. Obviously, they could all see that his time on this earth was drawing to a close. "Nickolas, come here my son." he rasped, gasping for his next breath. "Yes, father?" The handsome seventeen year old with shoulder length black hair and his father's eyes came to his bedside and clutched his hand. "You have grown into a good man, Nickolas. You are the only one out of all of my children who has stayed with us to the end. I thank you for that, Nick. Nickolas smiled slightly and squeezed his father's hand. "Though you are still young, I will be leaving the leadership of the Helsing Organization to you. I know that you will make a good leader." Nickolas bowed his head in respect, "Thank you. I will make you proud, I promise." William reached up and pat his son on his head as he had done many times when he was a little boy, "I know you will." He croaked and his hand fell lifeless to the bed.

I stared out at the fluffy clouds, as our private plane zoomed through the sky towards Anna and Hannibal's house in the Catskills. "Do you mind if I sit here?" asked Hannibal, snapping me out of day dream land. "Sure, where's Anna?" I asked as I moved some magazines from the seat next to me. "She's sleeping in the bedroom. Apparently I've given her a migraine from all my pestering." He sat down and propped his long legs up on the seat in front of him. I still thought it was weird that Anna would marry a guy like him. He didn't seem like her type. "So, how did you and Anna meet?" I asked, attempting to break the ice for a real conversation. " I met her um…twenty years ago when she came to live with the Valintegra clan." "Are you a member of her clan?" He ran his big hand through his hair, a little smirk quirking the corner of his lips. "Not by birth, no. I was sort of adopted, I guess. I'm originally from the Kain Clan. I grew up in the mountains of the Catskills. My dad was the alpha of our pack. When I was eight, some hunters found our settlement, Helsings. They killed everybody…but me. After that I traveled a bit, looking for a new pack that would except me. Our kind don't like being alone. We have this weird need to be apart of a pack, so I couldn't stay on my one even if I tried. I found the Valintegra when I was twenty and I've been with them ever since." "That's cool. Um…by the way, how many kids do you have?" I took a sip of my coke. "Five." And abruptly spit it out when the number registered in my brain. "Huh?! Did you say you have five kids?!" He nodded, looking at me like, _what's the big deal?_ "How long have you been married?" "Five years." "How did that happen?" I started doing math inside my head. "Well, our oldest was born before we were married and two of our sons are identical twins." "I…see." That makes a little more sense. "What are their names?" Hannibal got a warm and fuzzy look on his face as he talked about his children, his pups, as he called them. "Gabriella is almost six, the twins, Michael and Jordan (Ha!) are four, Lilith is two, and the baby, Zachery is two months." "You named your twins, Michael and Jordan?" I chuckled. "It was meant to be a joke, but she liked the names. I don't think she knows who Michael Jordan is. If you can believe that?" He laughed. Believe me I could. This was Anna we were talking about. "Let me get this straight, that woman in there had a baby two months ago? She sure doesn't look it." Hannibal grinned, "The werewolf body is a wonderful thing. Take me for instance, how old do you think I am?" "Uh…early thirties?" He howled with laughter, "Try forty eight." I spent the next half our gawking at him.

Nickolas flinched as the royal guard fired another shot of salute for his father, William van Helsing. He looked around at the dismal faces of the people, friends, family, associates, and Organization members, that were gathered there to morn the loss of the great man. _How will I ever fill his shoes? _Nickolas thought to himself, as a soldier folded the English flag that lay on his father's coffin and handed it to his mother. Maria clutched the flag in her hands and for the first time in his entire life he saw tears fall from his stone hearted mother's eyes.

"Damn it!" Davion roared as he threw Ark's mirror across the room. It still did not shatter. This mirror had been passed down throughout the ages from king to king since the beginning of time. It had the power to track anyone, vampire, werewolf, human, it didn't matter. Nothing escaped the Vampire King's Eye. No one except Dawn and her unborn child, that is. "I don't understand! Why won't it work!" The current vampire king, Davion, raged. "Did you really think it would be that easy?" Isabella chimed in. Davion glared at her still, angelic form. She was wearing a gown of white silk and her hair was twisted into a long raven braid. "The child knows you're looking for them and the threat that you pose. He has blinded you and you will stay blind until he is born. After that, there will be no stopping him and you will no longer worry him." Davion's teeth clinched, "You're telling me that he's already _aware_." Isabella's full lisps curved slightly in a smug smirk, "He was probably aware from the moment he was conceived. You're not going to destroy him." "Like hell I won't!" Davion hissed. "Please, you and I both know you won't be able to kill Dawn. You still love her." Davion shrugged on his skeleton print hoodie. "Yea, well I don't have a choice now do I? It's the only way I can stop him." Isabella shook her head, "He's not going to let you hurt her. You know that right? You'll be lucky if you even find her." Davion pulled his hood over his head and looked back over his shoulder at the old vampire queen. His bright crimson eyes glowed viciously at her from beneath the hood. "I have a plan. I'll just have to hire someone else to do my dirty work. Someone he won't be expecting. Farewell, Isabella. This might be the last time you will ever see me. What I'm about to do, may be suicide." He unfurled his bat wings and stretched them as far as he could. It had been such a long time since he'd used them. "Good bye, Davion. I would beg you not to go, but I'd just be wasting my breath. A bit of warning before you go, I have a good idea of who you're going to see and if he doesn't kill you then your son most definitely will. I fear that this will, in fact, be the last time I see you." Davion walked out on the terrace and his wings began to flap, lifting his feet up off the floor. "I know." He said and with that flew up towards the moon.

We pulled up into the driveway of a very large cabin. There was another, smaller cabin just behind it with a dock that extended over a crystal blue lake. "Home sweet home." Hannibal announced as he parked the cream colored Escalade. "Maybe for you." Anna huffed, "I'll be so happy when your teaching contract runs out and we can go back to England." Hannibal just laughed. As soon as we got out the car, the door opened and three little kids came running out, followed closely by a beautiful Spanish woman holding a tiny girl's hand and a baby against her chest. I recognized this woman from the night we attacked the Valintegra. She had been on the stage with Maria's father and brothers. She had to be Maria's sister. She looked just like her. All of the children looked similar, the same wavy black hair and their father's warm golden brown eyes instead of their mother's cold ones, that is all except for the oldest daughter, Gabriella. She didn't even look like she belonged to this family. She had silver hair, startling blue/silver eyes, and porcelain skin. This made me uneasy. Hannibal lifted the different looking girl onto his shoulders and the twins pounced on each of his legs. He walked with them clinging to him with ease, as if he had done it a thousand times. He probably had. Anna took the infant from her aunt and whispered something to her, most likely telling her about me. We all went inside and Hannibal introduced me to each of the kids. The twins and little Lilith took to me immediately, but Gabriella was a bit standoffish. I figured she just needed to get to know me more before she warmed up to me, so I tried to break the ice. I knelt down in front of her, so that we were eye to eye, and spoke in a warm friendly voice, "Hi Gabriella, my name's Dawn. I know you don't know me, but I'm your mother's step-sister. I'll be staying here with you guys for a while." Gabriella backed away from me and hid behind her father's leg. "What's wrong? It's okay. Don't be shy." She wrinkled her nose and pointed at my belly, "Bad" she said, her eyes shining with fright. I looked up at Hannibal, who gave me a sympathetic smile. Am I the only one who doesn't think my baby is evil? Maybe I'm wrong. Maybe he is and my motherly attachment is keeping me from seeing it. Or…maybe he's _making_ me feel that way.

After the funeral, Nickolas went to his room. He yanked off his jacket, tie and dress shirt and threw himself onto his bed with a heavy sigh. He put the ear buds of his iPod into his hears and turned on the loud rock music. It pounded against his ear drums, drowning out every other thought. That was exactly what he wanted. He lay there a while with his eyes closed, letting his mind slip away into a void where he could no longer feel the agony of loss. Then, a frigid chill swept through the room. He yanked out his ear buds and sat up. There, standing at the foot of his bed was a man in a hooded skeleton jacket.

Nickolas leapt from his bed and crouched into a feral fighting stance his mother had taught him. He bared his wolf's fangs and snarled. His golden eyes flared with a predatory gleam. He could tell just by the smell that the shadowy man in front of him was a vampire. They always smelled of death. He sprang at the vampire, his wolf's claws drawn and fangs ready to snap at it's frozen flesh. Suddenly, a dark wave slammed him against the wall. The world spiraled before his eyes. When his vision cleared, he looked up at the vampire to see what had hit him. Oozing from the vampire was a shadow creature with razor sharp claws and teeth. Burning red eyes glared dangerously at him. Nickolas knew then what exactly he was dealing with. His father had lectured him on it many times. As a vampire ages and grows stronger, it gains abilities, like mind reading, transformation, flight, teleportation, psychic shielding, etc. One of the rarest abilities of all is shadow wielding. Only the strongest of vampires, with a pure bloodline and who have spent years, centuries even, draining humans of their blood every single night, have this ability. He felt a chill run up his spine as he stared at the deadly shadow.

The vampire stepped forward, his shadow in toe. He laughed at the teenaged vampire hunter, "Foolish boy, I'm way out of your league." His teeth gleamed as he grinned. Nickolas pulled himself up. He winced at the pain. His entire body was screaming in protest. _Oh man, I think I broke a few ribs._ Nickolas thought to himself as he held his side. "Who are you? What do you want?" He asked, grimacing in pain. How he wished there was a gun or crossbow nearby. The vampire lowered his hood and brushed his hair out of his face. Red eyes glowed from it's skull and his fangs were very pronounced when he smiled. Nickolas was sure he'd seen his face before, but he couldn't place where. "My name is Davion, I'm sure your father has told you about me." Oh yea, he had told him alright. "You're the one who stole Dawn." Davion grinned, "Stole? That's not exactly how I remember it, but whatever. I've come to ask for your aid." Nickolas eyed the powerful vampire suspiciously, "You're asking me for help? Why would a vampire come to a vampire hunter for help?" Davion crossed his arms and the shadow creature returned to it's neutral state within his bloody eyes. "Because I want you to hunt a specific vampire for me. I would do it myself, but he's particularly powerful and he has a psychic shield around him that is making it impossible for me to find him myself. He will not be expecting me to send Helsing's human and werewolf cross son after him." Something about this was fishy. "What's the catch?" Nickolas asked. There had to be a catch. There always was with vampires. Davion sighed, "He hasn't been born yet. To destroy him, you will have to kill Dawn." Nickolas' eyes widened, "You mean he's…" Davion nodded, "my son."

None of this was making any sense to Nickolas. "Why do you want to kill him? He's your son! And what about Dawn?!" Davion shook his head sadly, "Believe me, if he isn't destroyed then it will be game over for us all." "I don't get it. You took Dawn away from her family, broke my dad's heart, turned her into a monster, got her pregnant and now you want her dead! Why? What kind of sick, twisted pleasure do you get from bringing people so much misery?!" He yelled. "I don't get any pleasure from it! I didn't mean for any of this to happen! It's just the way it played out! I love Dawn. I don't want to hurt her. I really don't, but I have no other choice. It's either I kill her or my son does. I can give her a quick, painless death or let die in agony. Saving her from that is the only thing I can do for her now." Nickolas rolled his eyes at Davion's touching speech. "Whatever, all you vamps do is lie. You're words don't' mean a thing. "I understand if you don't want to help me find her." Davion turned and walked towards the terrace. It was strange being in Dawn's old bed room again. Especially now that all her drawings and paintings were gone, replaced with rock bands and video game posters. Even though the room had changed, he could still smell her human sent all around him, after all these years, it was still there. It made him miss her all the more. "I'm sorry for what I've done to her and your family. I truly am. If I could do it all again, well…I wouldn't. I wish I had never gotten involved with her. Maybe then she could have had a normal, happy life with someone better than me. Forgive me for intruding. I'll go now."

"Wait!" Davion stopped at the sound of the boy's voice. He looked back at him. He was obviously in great amounts of pain, but he still stood his ground. A lesser man would have been writhing on the ground. He was definitely William van Helsing's son. "I'll help you find her, but I won't kill her. You can do that on your own if you really want to go through with it." He said. Davion was caught off guard, he hadn't really expected him to agree to it. In all honesty, he had planned on forcing him to help, but could not do it once he was in Dawn's old room with her sent flooding his senses. "May I ask why you changed your mind?" He asked. "I promised my dad that I would protect the human race from monsters like you. I mean to keep it, even if it means helping you kill my sister. Just know this, there's no guarantee that I'll spare you once this mission is through." Davion smiled, "If you draw your crossbow on me, then I will do nothing to sway your aim. I will accept my death, happily, and die with a smile on my face. Thank you, young Helsing."

Did I mention that my sister's a heartless harpy? She wouldn't let me eat with the rest of the family, because apparently I would get vampire cooties on the food and make everybody sick. I sat at the breakfast nook in the kitchen while everybody ate in the dining room, musing on ways I could insult next time she snapped at me. Hannibal came into the kitchen, carrying an armload of plates. "How's it going? Sorry about what Anna said." I shrugged, "It's okay, I lived with her mom, remember. I swear she's just like her. I think hating me might be hereditary." He laughed, "I wouldn't tell her that if I were you. She hates her mom." I took a bite of the lasagna, savoring the sweet deliciousness of it. If I wasn't careful I was never going to lose all this baby weight. "Noted." I said once I swallowed. "Say, I've noticed that Gabriella looks….um…different from your other kids. Why is that? Is she adopted?" Hannibal's smile vanished. He sat down the plate he had been scrubbing and turned towards me with a sad look on his face. Perhaps I shouldn't have asked. Touchy subject? "Gabriella is…not mine…biologically speaking." I gasped and dropped my fork. "Anna cheated on you?!" He looked down at his sneakers and his jaw clenched. That bitch! "What happened?" I asked, leaning forward in interest. "Right before we were supposed to be married, a rival pack moved into our territory. The Heiken Clan from Russia. The alpha, Hector took a…interest in Anna. Anna has always been ambitious. She wants nothing more than to be an alpha female, but here she has her uncles in the way and I would never oppose her grandfather. I have no interest in being alpha. It was an opportunity she couldn't pass up. Stay here and be a underling for the rest of your life or leave with Hector and become an alpha. Needless to say, she took it. She left with him. I went back to America after she left me, I came here to the very cabin I built for her as a wedding present. Three months later, I get a knock on my door and there she is standing in the doorway, pregnant with the white wolf's pup. She begged for my forgiveness and I took her back. We got married two weeks after she was born." He looked into the dining room at the silver haired girl. "She's my daughter, not his." "What happened to Hector?" I asked, dabbing my eyes with my napkin. "He's dead. He had the nerve to attack us on our wedding day. I fought with him and …I won." I sat straight up in my chair as the horrible realization dawned on me, "you killed him?" His eyes glazed over and he seemed to drift into a far away place. He lifted his hands and stared at them as if they were covered in dirt, "I snapped his neck with my jaws. His bones are still lying at the bottom of a ravine twenty miles north of here. His pack never even bothered to go pick up his remains. I dread the day Gabriella asks me about her real father. What am I going to tell her? That I murdered him?" "No, you were just protecting your family." I said, trying to comfort my new friend. He shook his head and looked at me with wild eyes, "No, I wasn't. I was still angry. I hated him for taking Anna from me. I wanted to kill him and…I liked it when I felt his bones snap in my teeth." He dropped his hands and looked down at his feet. "It still sickens me when I think about it. How I killed Gabriella's father. How she'll never know about him. I hope and prey that she never asks about him. I don't want her to know what I did." I went silent after that. There was nothing I could say to that. I knew all too well of the sickening pleasure you get from a kill after the animalistic, savage side of you takes over. I often felt it when I attacked humans. I guess the same goes for werewolves too. Even humans experience it. I know of several serial killers who have described such feelings of release when they killed. It's scary but true, we're all monsters deep down. Even good guys like Hannibal.


End file.
